IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Minnesota resident has been returned to Iowa to face charges that he killed his wife in Iowa City more than 16 years ago.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports (http://icp-c.com/JrAboR) that John Bloomfield faces a first-degree murder charge for the September 1997 death of 57-year-old Frances Bloomfield. Her body was found in a ditch outside of Rockford, Ill. Authorities believe she was strangled at the couple’s home and her body dumped in Illinois.

John Bloomfield said at the time that he had been away on a business trip.

He made his first court appearance Friday in Johnson County District Court via a video feed from the Johnson County Jail.

A judge set bail for the 73-year-old Bloomfield at $1 million. His preliminary hearing is Dec. 23.